How to Clean Up Cat Urine

Cat urine odor is something that no one should ever have to deal with. If you have friends with cats, you likely know that they have cats because when you walk into their home, there is a distinct smell. Sometimes it’s just the smell of “cat;” other times, it’s an excess of urine. Learning how to clean up cat urine odor is relatively difficult due to how poignant cat odor is, but it is possible.

Removing Cat Urine Odor

These methods definitely take more work than preventing the smell; odors that are already set in can be very difficult to get rid of, but not impossible. Some of these set-in odors may be due to cats marking their territory as well, so there’s not only urine that you’re dealing with. Here are some of the most commonly used methods of eliminating cat urine odor that already exists.

What You Will Need

An extracting wet vacuum (not a steam cleaner; see below)

Solution consisting of three parts vinegar; one part water.

Paper towels

First, take the solution consisting of three parts vinegar/one part water solution and spray it over the affected area. This solution can “eat away” at the smell and deter your cat from urinating there again. After it sits for 20 minutes, dab it up with a paper towel. (Note: this is only effective if you know where the stains are that are causing the smell. If you do not, go to step two.)

Take your extracting wet vacuum and use it over the entire carpet. This is not the same as a steam cleaner. Steam cleaners use heat; wet vacuums expel water and then suck it back up. The heat from a steam cleaner can actually make the situation worse. Extracting wet vacuums can provide a deep clean that gets cat urine that got deep into the carpet.

Preventing Cat Urine Odor

Removing the cat urine odor from your home is a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth the time that you’re going to invest in it. One of the best ways for you to get rid of cat urine odor is to make sure that any and all urine is eliminated. The less urine there is to deal with at the beginning, the less chance there is that the smell will linger. .

So what does this mean for you? You need to keep an eye on where your cat is going to the bathroom. If he or she is going outside of the box, check out where she’s going and clean it as quickly as you can. Blotting it with a paper towel is usually the best way to go if the odor is fresh. This also helps to prevent any staining before you have to deal with that as well.

One technique that has become incredibly common in eliminating the odor of cat urine is using something called enzymatic cleaner. Enzymatic cleaner has become a must-have in any home that has multiple cats, but even if you have a single cat, it’s great to consider. Enzymatic cleaner has bacterial cultures, but not the bad types that you associate with disease. Instead, think of them more like the cultures you find in yogurt. You spray the cleaner onto the affected area, and these cultures start to feast on the urine itself. After the area dries, it is sanitary and the smell should be gone.

These two methods are great for the prevention of the odor in the case that you catch the cat in the act or shortly after, but what if you already have odor issues? There are ways to get rid of the odors that are already set in as well.